WHEN ARE WE REOPENING?

Short Answer: Sunday, May 31st

Long Answer: It’s the SUMMER of TRANSITIONS

After recent changes made in our country and state about the slow process of reopening, we have made the decision to open our building on May 31st for the 11am worship service. However, things will change weekly, and we will be spending time early on making sure we can operate in our building safely and with some social distancing measures in place.

No matter what, we will continue to offer all worship services and family ministry resources ONLINE to anyone who chooses to not gather in-person when we start back on May 31st. We ask that everyone make the best decision for themselves and their families before returning to Journey (especially those sick or experiencing symptoms and the immunodeficient - we ask that you stay home at this time).

Similar to the rest of our country, we will be taking steps to slowly open. Below you will see a button linking to our planned stages of reopening, what will be offered for adults, students, and children, what our desired timelines are, and what to expect in our gatherings. We will hold these plans loosely (especially timelines) since we know that some things can and will change from week to week.

We realize that over the course of this summer our church will continue to slowly transition between in-person and online worship experiences. Our commitment is to serve you where you are and do our best to keep our church connected during this time.

We encourage you to ENGAGE in whatever level you desire and STAY CONNECTED to your church family. The author of Hebrews said it this way:

Let us hold tightly without wavering to the hope we affirm, for God can be trusted to keep his promise. Let us think of ways to motivate one another to acts of love and good works. And let us not neglect our meeting together, as some people do, but encourage one another, especially now that the day of his return is drawing near.” Hebrews 10:23-25

Please don’t hesitate to ask questions as we walk through these transitions. However, we ask that you continue to be patient and give extra grace when decisions are made that you personally don’t agree with. We’re all one body with one Lord, and we all desire to serve Him fully.

As we look to Easter, we are not planning on having an in-person gathering. Our staff was planning a unique experience that honored our current circumstances, but the NC state order changed it that possibility with their most recent order.

BUT we are planning several other special ways to engage as a church as we make our way to Easter:

• Times of Devotion & Worship - We will be hosting some times of worship & devotion over the next few weeks outside of our Sunday morning services. We’re planning a special experience for Good Friday, so be on the lookout for these coming soon.

• Communion Celebration - We will be taking communion together as a church at 12:00pm on Easter Sunday (after the worship service). Just like Jesus utilized what was around him for the first communion, look around your pantry and set aside some bread/crackers & juice/wine in your home to join us on Easter Sunday after the service as we celebrate His Sacrifice and Resurrection.

• Evangelism Opportunity - There is NO GREATER TIME to invite people to Jesus than during our Easter celebration. This year, you won’t be inviting anyone to a physical service, but a virtual one with YOUR PERSONAL TESTIMONY!

We are challenging EVERYONE at Journey to share what we’re calling a #MyHope Video on Easter morning using Social Media.

Our goal is to resource you to share a brief video that comes from your heart. We will be sending you examples of these videos to help you share your story! If there is ever going to be a day you SHARE PUBLICLY your faith…EASTER IS THAT DAY!

• Family EASTER EGG HUNT - In addition to our family resources for Sunday morning worship, we are also going to send you specific instruction on how to tell the resurrection story through an EGG HUNT at your home. This allows you to leverage a common tradition as well as share the story of Jesus on this very special day.

We hope you're following along with our 21 Days of Truth on Facebook & Instagram. Take 30 seconds to share the post each day to be a bringer of Peace and Hope to your timeline. Know that we love you, we are for you, and we are excited to see what God will do with our next steps as a church!

Journey is meeting ONLINE ONLY on March 15th at 11am. In light of the NC State Executive Order concerning large gatherings (over 100 people), we are changing our plans and meeting ONLINE tomorrow at 11am.

Journey is planning to meet together as a church this weekend on March 15th at 9am and 11am. All programs are running as scheduled this weekend.

First and foremost, we want you to respond with a spirit of faith, not of fear. We understand that larger congregations as well as some businesses and social events have made the decision to cancel, and we support them in their decision. Journey Church will continue to evaluate and pray over our future schedule on a weekly basis as we continue to respond to this pandemic.

For this Sunday, I have changed the message and will directly speak to the response we as Followers of Christ are called to have during this unique time in our country.

We fully understand and support your choice to stay home and engage with our service online. If you have an upper respiratory infection, a cough, fever, or any symptoms in common with Covid-19, we simply ask that you stay home for other’s safety and peace of mind.

“God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power, and love, and a sound mind.” - 2 Timothy 1:7

The purpose of this letter is to inform you of a plan of action Journey is implementing in response to the Covid-19 outbreak. First and foremost, we want you to respond with a spirit of faith, not of fear. The reality is that Covid-19 is affecting the world physically, economically, and relationally. Billions in revenue is being lost, many people will face health issues, and many may experience fear and grief for those losing loved ones and those who are diagnosed with the virus and complications.

For those inclined to ignore the threat, we remember that in Matthew 25:31-40, Jesus calls us to “serve the least of these” (i.e., those who will find themselves vulnerable to possible health concerns) as a way of serving Jesus himself. We must make every effort to make our public gatherings as safe as we can for every man, woman, and child.

With that said, I love the following verse:

Even when I walk through the darkest valley, I will not be afraid, for you are close beside me. Your rod and your staff protect and comfort me.Psalm 23:4 (NLT)

Every time I have lost a loved one or faced serious economic loss or times of extreme uncertainty, this verse has brought me great comfort. And trust me, I have faced serious losses and times of uncertainty in life. I pray that none of us faces a loss during this epidemic, and I know our God is faithful to walk closely with us. No matter our circumstances, God will walk with us:

“God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power, and love, and a sound mind.” - 2 Timothy 1:7

Here is Journey’s plan of action:

We will always have a service planned until/unless we post on our website otherwise. We have a special page for on our website specifically for updating you on our plans related to this public health situation. The page will clearly notify you if we change our Sunday plans to one service or no services. In the event of no physical service, we will ALWAYS have an online service available for you.

If you have an upper respiratory infection or any symptoms in common with Covid-19, we simply ask that you stay home for other’s safety and peace of mind.

Communion stations will be supplied with sealed individual servings until this crisis is over.

Hand sanitizers will continue to be available.

We have our facility professionally cleaned, but we will try to have cleaning wipes available for you to use so that you can feel comfortable with any surfaces that you may touch. Please do not wipe down stainless steel or computer screens or keyboards with disinfectants as we do not want our equipment damaged.

We will suspend the meet and greet time, so that there is no unnecessary handshaking.